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Monthly Archives: January 2015

The Press Herald has a good primer on the new law that allows small companies to raise funding through crowdfunding.

Under Maine’s crowdfunding law, entrepreneurs can raise capital by selling equity or debt in their companies to anyone. The exchange of money for equity or debt does require regulatory oversight and includes some restrictions.

They also report on a company getting ready to launch that will help match up companies approved to raise funds under the new law and investors. The web site Backer.ly should launch in 2015.

The Scarborough Land Trust has completed the purchase of the 135-acre Benjamin Farm property on Pleasant Hill Road. Land trust officials joined members of the Jerrerd Benjamin family at the closing on Dec. 12.

Located two miles from Higgins Beach, Benjamin Farm consists of open fields, woods and wetlands, and contains headwaters of the Spurwink River. It abuts Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge and is part of a wildlife and wetlands corridor that reaches to Scarborough Marsh. It is one of the last, large open spaces in one of the most populated areas of town.

While data on Maine’s economy for 2014 is still rolling in (and will be for up to another year), we’re able to reflect on at least a few trends, most of which show the same broader story of Maine’s slow recovery from recession.

Officials at the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, the agency overseeing conversion of the base to civilian use, believe TechPlace will become a cornerstone for new business development at Brunswick Landing.

The aim is to bring in small companies in high-tech industries like aerospace, composite materials, renewable energy and information technology, and give them the space and resources to grow and connect with other businesses.